The Bridge with Peter Mansbridge - The Weekend Special #8 - Your Thoughts, Comments and Questions As We Stay Calm and Carry On.

Episode Date: May 8, 2020

Another week of really smart letters from many of you that I get the pleasure of reading for everyone's benefit.

And hello there, Peter Mansbridge here, the latest episode of the Bridge Daily. It's the weekend special, number eight. I love the figure eight. You know, it brings back memories. My childhood, my first kind of electric train set I can remember was in the shape of a figure eight. I remember building Willie when he was a little boy. A race car set that was in the figure eight shape.

Curling, a perfect end in curling is eight. I never had one. I used to curl a little bit when I was West, Winnipeg and Regina. When I lived there and worked there, I used to curl. But I used to watch the best curlers in the world. You know, Donnie Duguid, Oris Melichuk, Barry Fry.

They were all Manitoba curlers. Great curlers. And, uh, I can remember one time watching my brothers-in-law, the Dudar twins, considered the best sweepers in the world. Those were in the days of the old corn broom. Best sweepers in the world. They were amazing.

They were twins and they looked, they were the perfect twins curling because they looked like one person when they were sweeping. And they could move a rock from one end to the other perfectly. And I remember them, when they were playing one year, getting an 8, an 8-ender. So, 8 is a figure that I like. So the weekend special number eight is a big one. Eight weeks we've been doing this on a daily basis because of COVID-19.

And we've had lots of really good programs. And I'd like to wrap up each week with your thoughts and questions and comments. And what I have become fascinated with in podcasts, and other podcasters tell me the same thing, that the reaction they get from listeners is really engaging and thoughtful and worthy of lots of discussion, as opposed to the kind of comments you get, say, on Twitter. But podcast reaction is really good. So I've enjoyed this day.

I look forward to the Fridays, and clearly you do too, because as I've said before, when I look at the numbers, how many listeners and downloads and all these odd things that happen in the podcast world, it's pretty clear that you enjoy the episode where we get your thoughts because your thoughts often prompt other people's thoughts, and, you know, it's sort of one thing leads to another. Anyway, here's how we do it. I don't read the whole letter

because a lot of the letters are long, but I pick out specific little parts of it. So if you hear your letter read and it's not in its entirety, don't, don't get upset. It's just that I'm trying to get a lot of letters in here. However, I do pick one letter to read the whole thing. And I always end with that one. And there's always a lot that could be the final letter. But only one can make it each week, and we've got another good one this week. So let me get started.

These are in no particular order. They're just kind of the way they came off the printer. And here we go. Richard Saner. We've heard from Richard before. I think it's Guelph he writes from, or in the Guelph area of Ontario. We've got letters from around the world here today. Anyway, Richard writes, I'm not a puzzle person, but my sons are.

So I was listening to your podcast last night, and you talked about puzzles. Our at-home son, now 28, loves puzzles. So Mom went searching for puzzles online and has secured a few to keep him occupied during the lockdown. They certainly are not cheap to buy. But when he starts a puzzle, there is no stopping him. He keeps at it until it's done. By the way, he's a Nighthawk. The puzzle, typically

a thousand pieces, is completed in well under 48 hours. And he even showed a picture of one of the last ones that his son completed. Good for him. That takes a lot of patience and a good eye. Here's the part of Richard's letter I like the best. Your reference to the Map of Canada puzzle. If you didn't hear last night's podcast, just look at the art, the podcast art on the cover on Instagram or Twitter. It's of a puzzle box that I got at an antique dealer years ago, and the cover of it is an old map of Canada.

Or it's not. The story is about a map of Canada, the puzzle itself, but the box is more of kind of just an old drawing, not the map itself. Anyway, your reference to the Map of Canada puzzle reminded me of the story I heard about the origins of jigsaw puzzles. It has its origins as a learning tool for students who had to reassemble a map of the world

that had been pasted to a piece of wood and then cut apart by the teacher using a jigsaw. I believe in England. Jigsaw puzzle. That's where that term comes from. Thank you. Crystal Steers. I'm not sure where Crystal is from.

Did she say? Oh, here she is. She's from St. Catharines, Ontario. Here's what Crystal writes. I have to start by saying I love the Wednesday episode where you talk about not knowing what Etsy is. I had no idea what Etsy was. It's an online shopping thing.

I since found out. Honestly, it made me love you and your podcast more. I've listened to you for what seems like my whole life. I'm reading this part of her letter because I've got to tell you, I get a lot of letters that talk like this. I find it very endearing because I never thought about it at the time when I was doing the National all those years, 30 years. Anyway, I listened to you for what seems like my whole life. My grandfather used to watch you years ago.

When I was little and wanted to spend time with him, I would just sit next to him and watch you with him. It may not sound exciting, but I felt like it was a great bonding experience for him and I as a child. When I found out you'd started a podcast, I was beyond excited to download it and subscribe. My grandfather passed away in 1992 when I was just 11. But if he were here today, I feel like him and I would be bonding over your podcast now, too. Crystal, that's so sweet. Thank you for saying that.

And, you know, not only can I imagine that in your words, you know, I think a lot of people can imagine that. Anyway, Crystal says, I wanted to write you today because in today's episode, you chatted about the contact tracing apps and what that will look like or how we will debate this going forward. I think the questions for all of us right now, or the question for all of us right now is, what does freedom mean to you and what is it worth to you?

There's a very fine line between the government ensuring your health and safety without infringing on our human rights and the government becoming a police state. I have a copy of the Canadian Charter of Human Rights. Yes, this may make me an odd Canadian, but I believe that we all need to be aware of what our actual rights are in any country we choose to call home. And I reread it last night. I suppose I was looking for some insights, I guess, in what may be coming down the pipe for all of us. Of course, there were none to be found because no one has the answers yet. I can tell you though that I'm worried about these apps and just how they may use my data, store my data, or what data may be available to who knows what companies. I will not choose to

use them because of this. If our country becomes a place that requires me or requires that we must be tracked, traced, or even forced to take an unproven vaccine once we have one, I may not choose to stay in this country. Well, that's the extreme reaction, Crystal. First of all, nobody's going to try to force you to take a vaccine that hasn't been proven. There are regulations and standards in this country, and they will be upheld. I am convinced of that. But the issue of contact tracing is a legitimate one to be thinking about. You know, that fine line between, you know, privacy and health protection

is one that, you know, we all want to think about. It's interesting that, well, I don't want to overgeneralize here, but in what little, and I actually was talking to Edward Snowden about this, believe it or not, a couple of months ago when I was doing an interview with him, but it seemed that younger people, generally younger people, in their late teens, 20s, are less concerned about privacy than generations before them. We're very concerned about privacy. You, Crystal, are obviously concerned about privacy.

It seems that in the case of a lot of younger people, they've just assumed that privacy doesn't exist anymore. They kind of move on. But, as I said, I don't want to overgeneralize there, and perhaps I just did. But I think it is a fascinating debate, this debate over contact tracing. It's basically where they, you know, if you download an app

and you've got your Bluetooth on, it will track you. And if you turn, you know, if it becomes that you turn positive, you will be able to find everybody who you've been in contact with through that contact app during whatever the previous week or two weeks. And it helps trace down where the disease may have gone. Anyway, fascinating discussion. Contact tracing. I'm sure we'll have it again.

This comes from Kevin Chan, who's in Toronto. In the middle of you talking about poll numbers last night, I was consumed by a sense of sadness when invasion of Iraq was mentioned. To this day, no one and no government has been held accountable for the hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths as the result of that invasion. An invasion that, of course, turned out to be based on a false premise, weapons of mass destruction. Well, the same sad history will repeat itself again in the name of democracy and free world as we stand idly by. Now I'm not sure exactly what Kevin's getting at there. It may be the whole issue of China where some people are being extremely bullish about future relationships

even potential conflict with China as a result of COVID-19. And certain assumptions are being made by some people that this was either a deliberate release of this virus or that it happened as a result of an accident that wasn't controlled in a lab in Wuhan, China. While others still maintain, and there's clearly a split here, while others still maintain it was a natural occurring disease emanating from China, but from bats in Wuhan. We don't know the answer to that,

and there is a difference of opinion, and clearly the Trump people want to try and float the lab issue, while other intelligence agencies on the part of the Five Eyes group, which one of those eyes is the U.S., but the other four include Canada, are saying, no, we don't see that. We haven't seen that. Patricia Thomas. This is on masks.

I admit I'm pretty reluctant to wear a mask, but I saw the writing on the wall that it would become required in our new normal of opening up the country. My mantra became, if I have to wear a mask, it better be funny. Thankfully, a local maker in Edmonton had what I needed. And thanks to the prime minister for the comedic inspiration. So Patricia sent a picture of herself wearing her mask. And the words printed on the mask are speaking moistly.

And I'm sure you remember where that came from. Justin Trudeau used that phrase at one of his news conferences a couple of weeks ago. That email from Patricia comes out of the discussion we had the other night about masks and how they've taken off as a fashion issue and how there are all kinds of fancy masks out there now available. Because masks may well become something that we all wear for a while.

I'm not talking days or weeks. I'm talking months or years. Masks may become just as common as gloves and a scarf. We'll see. Jim Sloan from Brandon, Manitoba. Some time ago, you mentioned that you had an app on your phone to keep track of your steps. Now I have one too.

It's called Pacer. I've been increasingly ramping up my activity since my heart attack in March. And for the past few days, I'm crowding 6,000 steps. That's great. Good for you, Jim. The bare minimum you should do every day is 4,000, according to various health people. So Jim writes, benefits are that I am sleeping much better. Downside, I like to listen to your podcast just before I go to bed.

I haven't heard a complete podcast now for days. Gee, thanks, Jim. I put you to sleep, right? You know the number of people who came, who've come up to me over the years, about the days on the Nationals, saying, I always watch you before I went to bed. In fact, I fell asleep to you every night.

I don't know how I was supposed to take that. I know. I don't know how I was supposed to take that. I know. Debbie Sacrob from Toronto. You and your relevant, interesting podcasts come with me every day on my walk. I was particularly taken with your discussion of FDR. We did that the other night. I think it was Tuesday. FDR and leadership. It's a good one. If you didn't hear it, you should go back and listen to it. My mom, who will turn 89 this

month, was a young girl during FDR's presidency. She has often said, when he spoke, it was like God was speaking. People listened. People revered his every word. He had a delivery, a presence, and the ability to reassure in tough times. It's interesting and thought-provoking to compare leaders back then to those of today. I'll say. Eric Konser from Sherwood Park, Alberta.

I'm a medical lab technologist in a histology lab in Edmonton, so while I'm not on the front lines and our workload has been cut significantly from all of the postponed surgeries, I still have patients to look after and biopsies and tissues to process. It's the luxury of going to work that has made me think of some of the other things that most of us take for granted.

Who knew we'd consider going to work a luxury? The biggest luxury that I've been thinking about is paid sick leave. It's been an issue brought up in previous years, mostly to show how spoiled public sector workers are and how much paid sick leave we have access to. But when the current pandemic was in its early stages, I wonder how many outbreaks may have been stopped simply by private sector workers having the same amount of paid sick leave as I do and staying home. There are news stories every flu season to remind Canadians to stay home when sick, but so many choose not to simply because they cannot afford the time away

from work without pay. Perhaps when this is over, paid sick time, maybe the new workplace standard, or at least I hope that becomes the case. I'd love to hear your opinion on this. I'm not going to disagree with you on that. Aaron, sorry, I said Eric, it's Aaron, Aaron Conser. I think you make an excellent point. You know, the ability for certain public sector people who have paid sick leave, while others in the private sector don't have it,

is certainly an advantage, but it's an unfair advantage. And I can see exactly your point about being concerned about those who didn't have paid sick leave, who chose to go to work because they couldn't afford not to. Gary Aslanian. Gary lives in Switzerland. I live in Geneva, have been working for the WHO for the last 11 years, formerly worked in Ottawa for CETA and PHAC, the public health group, for 11 years.

I included my LinkedIn profile in my most recent interview with the University of Toronto, just in case you want to know what I do. The reason I'm writing is to request that we in Canada need to have a serious conversation about what we mean about public health and how we're going to organize it better. I'm not talking about publicly funded health care. This is a mistake made by many, including those who cover the crisis. This is something that many Canadians don't know about and think public health is the health care. And we know it's not. It's the prevention. It's the preparedness for outbreaks. It's reduction of cases of certain diseases. It's the promotion of health. Whatever public health does is before things

become diseases and need health care. We celebrate our health workers. I clap every evening on my balcony here in Geneva, just like we do in so many parts of the country here. I clap every evening on my balcony here in Geneva to those who work at the Geneva Hospital. I also want to clap to public health workers, those who make sure we don't end up in those hospitals. We can't afford not getting this right this time. Good point, Gary. Christopher Lackey writes from Montreal. As you may know, in Quebec, a petition to hold off on sending the kids back until September to school,

this is the school issue, has collected almost 300,000 signatures. I was very against the petition because I didn't want to second-guess the government, and I couldn't wait for my kids to go back. I believe we have to get on with it and learn to live with this thing. I doubt that anything will change between now and September. The virus is not going to magically disappear on August 31st. However, tonight at the 11th hour, this is a couple of nights ago, tonight at the 11th hour, the school board has asked us to let them know whether our kids are coming back. I made the decision with my wife to keep our two sons, grade 3 and senior kindergarten, at home,

but only because she's seven months pregnant with our third child. There are too many risks because of that. Otherwise, we would be comfortable, based on the information we currently have, sending them back on May 19th. Well, Christopher, as you know, this has been a very divisive issue in Quebec. A lot of people on both sides of this. The government has at least said, hey, you've got a choice, as you did, Christopher. You can either send them or not send them. You've just got to let us know.

I mean, I saw the guidelines. They're lengthy. And I can see why some people get upset. You know, what kids are going to go through in going back to classes in some parts of Quebec, you know, there's no guarantee they'll be in with the same kids they had been before. The room size, not surprisingly, will be much smaller. There will be physical distancing. There will be restrictions on when they can ever leave their room.

Whether or not they'll go outside for recess will obviously depend on weather, as it often does, but it may be more than just weather. And when they do go outside, it won't be playtime as usual. It'll be like walking around on a line. Anyway, so it's a tough call. And, you know, educationations of provincial jurisdiction and different provinces are looking at this differently some are not opening at all this year not until the fall of the earliest bc has just put in some rules today you should check obviously your own province but

you should also check the others to see how some of them are different, because they definitely are different. There's another letter on the education issue. You may recall I used a bit of this letter last week, Lexia Simmons, who was writing from Honduras, where she's a Canadian teaching in Honduras. Her parents live in Edmonton. But I wanted to read you one side.

The other part I was talking about was her sort of connection to covering the story by listening to the CBC and listening to podcasts. That's what I read last week. But I wanted to read you one paragraph she has on the teaching issue because I think it's definitely relevant and based on her experience with kids in Honduras, it's interesting. So let me write this.

A couple of days ago, I heard that Quebec and Ontario were thinking of reopening schools. I believe I heard a leader say that the reopening of school and reopening of businesses need to go hand in hand because people are unable to go to work if schools are unable to be open. I'm hearing that there are standards being put in place to be able to reduce the risk, And since kids have been more resilient through this pandemic, it's considered safer. My school closed down about a month ago. This is in Honduras. And we have transitioned to online education. A whole other email I could send. But I remember

before we left school, I was on duty on the playground. And the bell had just rung. And I looked at the kids playing on this playground. There were kids playing tag, others playing hide-and-seek, others playing on the play set, others play fighting on the grass. And the only thing I could realistically think was if one of them has COVID-19, everyone at this school has it now. Interesting. And I'm sure, you know, Alexia, that teachers here in Canada have had those same kind of thoughts

before schools were closed and are probably having them now. Schools in some places may end up opening up. Actually, there's another couple of sentences from Luxia's letter I wanted to read. I understand that to reopen an economy, it's necessary for kids to be in school, but I'm wondering what we're trading off for it. I'm wondering if we as a society took several

leaps forward to walk back all the work we've done in terms of progressive teaching. I'm wondering what we're now going to begin to ask from our teachers. Are we still expecting the kids to reach their math and reading goals if the teacher cannot work one on one with these students in the same way um sorry i'm just trying sometimes words get left out in these in these letters um they can't make education, have to scare their kids into not playing with other kids. Would it hurt to let time go by, collect ourselves, have the risk reduce, and then return to schools in a calmer environment?

We think we as adults have been through a lot, but think about our kids who know something is happening, but they don't understand it. They just know everyone is scared. Thanks, Alexia. All right. I got a lot of mail this week about our Monday night podcast. And there's quite a few of the letters I want to read.

The Monday night podcast was about the liberation of Holland, a good chunk of the Netherlands, by Canadian troops back in the spring of 1945. This is the 75th anniversary of that liberation. And there were a lot of celebrations. There was a new Historica Minute, which I helped plug because I'm on the board of Historica. Plus, I think those minutes are fantastic in terms of their guiding us through our history. Anyway, I did a podcast I'm very proud of on Monday night, and if you haven't listened to it, please go back and listen to it.

But let me read some of the reaction. Jill Snell writes from Fernie, B.C. Monday's podcast struck a particular chord. Imagining what being occupied would have been like can only be a challenge for many, and bless anyone who has experienced and hopefully survived it. In this current battle of global pandemic, humanity should all be on the same side, on a side whose goal should be to protect the global population by defending those who are most vulnerable in our society.

To that end, we do have freedom, the freedom to choose to protect those around us. We have a choice. We still have freedom to show our strength by choosing to hold the line, holding the line by following the recommendation of public health officials. We've not lost our freedom. Rather, we have been given an opportunity to show our courage and our strength.

In this battle, may we all continue to be strong and hold the line. Rob Decker writes from Ottawa. We're now regular listeners of The Bridge We use one night on the weekend to catch up on your podcast We listened to your May 4th podcast On the eve of the 75th anniversary of the Dutch liberation The story of your chat with General George Kitching On the 50th anniversary, 25 years ago, was particularly moving. I was a Canadian general who was one of those who took the surrender from German forces in the Netherlands,

and I sat at the same table with General Kitching that he'd sat out in 1945 across from German officers as the surrender was taken. That chat was particularly moving, says Rob Decker. The idea that you must live through an occupation to appreciate the peace is something most Canadians will never know. Seventy-five years ago, my dad was 19 and my mother was 14. I thought of them when you talked about the liberation and the ongoing respect and regard the Dutch have for Canadians.

My father is 94 and my mother is 89. They are living well and living through this COVID-19 isolation in Mississauga. Perhaps after the quarantine, we will all appreciate our lives a little bit more afterwards. I think we will. Okay, let me see. As I said, we've got quite a few letters here on this issue,

and I just might read a couple of them in their entirety, because they're pretty good. So let me carry on, though, first of all. Ann Campbell writes, not sure where Anne is writing from. When my Canadian uncle served in Holland during World War II, he had a relationship with a young Dutch woman. He fathered his son in Holland,

who was left in the Netherlands when the war ended. Despite the young woman's efforts, she was not able to make contact with my uncle in Canada. Henk, that's the son, lives in Appledorn. He was instrumental in helping many Dutch children locate Canadian fathers over the years. Fast forward a few decades, my cousin found his Canadian relatives with the help of the RCMP. Only recently Hen Hank found out

that both his mother and biological stepfather were resistance fighters in the Netherlands during the war. Our first trip to Appledorn was 12 years ago when Hank's eldest daughter was married. The current mayor of Appledorn officiated the wedding at City Hall because my cousin's daughter was instrumental in hostessing many liberation events over the years, as did Hank. The mayor also performed some of the ceremony in English out of respect for the dozen Canadians who had traveled to Appledorn for the wedding. My uncle was able to establish a cordial relationship with his biological son and traveled to a number of liberation events in Appledorn over the years before he passed away. I treasure the photo

of myself with my Dutch cousin under the man with two hats. That's a statue in Appledorn. I've also been to the man with two hats in Ottawa. Appledorn is such a lovely city. It certainly is. It's a fantastic city. Patrick Talon writes, I think he's in Ottawa. I enjoy your podcast, especially yesterday's discussion of FDR's leadership

and the previous day's remembrance of Dutch liberation by Canadians. So I wanted to share this quick story. A couple of years ago, I was cycling with some friends through northern France, Belgium, and on to the Netherlands. We spent a morning at Vimy Ridge. What an experience. Anyway, back to the purpose of my note. We were biking through the Scheldt Estuary in Holland, an area of particularly tough fighting for Canadians in 1945, it sure was. We passed a couple of other cyclists, stopped on the side of the trail. A broken chain was the culprit. Having the right tool with us, we fixed her bike and had them back on their journey in short order. The woman was very happy and thanked us for the help. When her husband realized we were Canadian,

he thanked us for the bike repair and he thanked Canada for what we did in 1945. I've always been proud to be Canadian, but this poignant remark in Holland filled us all with pride. Great story. Betty Ricketts writes, I think she's in Nova Scotia. It was especially heartwarming to hear Monday's podcast featuring a history lesson concerning the liberation of the Netherlands 75 years ago.

Like so many Canadians, my dad landed on Juneau Beach and fought his way through Europe until finally reaching and helping to liberate the people of Holland. He'd been away from my mother and baby daughter for almost four years at that point, but the desperation of the people moved him to volunteer to stay on an extra six months after VE Day to run much-needed supplies and food to the Dutch. Dad marched so proudly on the streets of Appledorn 50 years later. I was there on that day. Now it's an honor for me and my siblings

to remember these important milestones and attend the ceremonies when we're able. Next, it will be our children who educate and attend. All right. Final two letters. They're both on the same topic. This one's kind of long. It's from Paul Gertin from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.

Let's give it a try. While listening to your podcast about the Netherlands and their people enduring affection towards Canada and Canadians, I was transported back to 2011 when my wife Paula and I visited France. As a sojourn for our time in Paris, we took a train north to Bayeux, where we had planned on spending two nights while seeing some of the Normandy region. I was dumbfounded when we started walking through the town and I immediately noticed Canadian, American, and UK flags in several storefronts, along with signage that read, We thank our liberators. Shortly thereafter, I noticed banners of these same flags hanging from

all of the lampposts. I was impressed and somewhat surprised that their gratitude was still so overt and omnipresent some 66 years later. It actually caught me off guard and stirred up feelings of pride and my own gratitude for what our fellow countrymen and women had done all those years ago. While visiting, we learned that Bayeux was the first major city to be secured by the Allies during Operation Overlord. This was not the last time that my emotions would be raked over during our two days in Normandy. The next day was a tough one emotionally. We rented a car and drove along the northern coast, first visiting Juneau Beach.

The visitor centre there was excellent and very informative. However, of everything we saw there, it was a small piece of paper that affected me the most. As we walked down onto the beach and I looked out over the water, thinking about the immeasurable courage shown by those who landed there on June 6, 1944, and the terrible events they faced there, I noticed a small paper Canadian flag. You know the kind I mean.

The same as you might see a child waving on Canada Day. Someone had planted that little flag right there on the beach, the sight of which against the immense backdrop of the beach and ocean immediately brought tears to my eyes, as the memory is doing again now as I write this. When we left Juneau Beach, we traveled to the Canadian cemetery at Reviere, which is the Benny Surmer Cemetery is what it's called. Paula and I were the only people there at the time we arrived in the quiet solemnness of that sacred place, and it is quiet and incredibly solemn, was overwhelming. Again, I was brought to tears as we surveyed the grounds, read many of the tombstones. It was difficult to process, and I'm having trouble

putting those emotions into words. After leaving the cemetery, we traveled to Long Surmeur, where we visited the former German artillery battery that was part of the Nazis' Atlantic Wall. Its gun emplacements and fire control bunkers still remain there to this day. I was just there last year, about this time last year. The bunkers were several hundred meters apart, and visiting them all requires some walking down what are essentially small dirt roads between them. While walking down one of these roads, Paula and I were marveling at the countryside around us

when suddenly and without saying anything, Paula left the roadway and was walking towards something she'd spotted a short ways off the road. As I followed her, I saw her bend down and pick a small poppy that had been growing amongst the road. As I followed her, I saw her bend down and pick a small poppy that had been growing amongst the brush. As you might imagine, I was instantly awash with emotion and I had to work to keep it together. We still have that poppy today. Thanks for that, Paul. If you haven't been to Normandy, if you haven't been to Normandy,

if you haven't done that drive through different parts of France where Canadians have served with distinction over two great wars, it's certainly worth a visit, and you'll leave with the same kind of emotions that have touched Paul and the way he writes about them. All right, here's the last letter for the weekend special number eight. And this is pretty, pretty special. It's from Jill Lease from Brantford, Ontario. Peter, I'd like to tell you about a very special ceremony that took place at Holland Homes, a retirement community, housing,

approximately 1,200 seniors, including two nursing homes in Brampton, Ontario. Okay, we've got Brantford is where Jill's writing from. She's talking about a ceremony in Brampton, two different towns. On Tuesday, May 5th, a group of Canadian Armed Forces personnel stood at attention at the flagpole and assisted in the home's annual Flag Day ceremonies

to commemorate the liberation of Holland by Canadian forces in 1944-45. The Canadian flag was raised first, accompanied by the singing of O Canada, and then the Dutch flag was raised, accompanied by the singing of the Dutch national anthem Phil Helmuth's. Dutch and Canadian flags were flown from windows and balconies of the buildings. Normally, the area would be filled with residents and families, as well as local dignitaries, to mark the occasion. There would also be coffee and special Dutch treats for all to enjoy. This year, because of the need for social distancing, most residents watch from their balconies or windows or on the closed circuit in-house TV channel.

So as I watched the live stream YouTube video from the comfort of my home in Brantford, I was struck that once again, the Canadians are still coming to the rescue. The troops have once again answered a call to duty, this time to assist the staff and residents in one of the nursing homes, Grace Manor, which had been hard hit by the COVID-19 virus.

These young men and women are again serving the most vulnerable in our communities in Ontario. My parents immigrated from Holland to Canada in the early 1950s. My father had served with the Allies in the Dutch Resistance, although he never spoke of those days, and my mom recalled the joy and relief that was felt during that liberation time. They were excited to immigrate to Canada and become Canadian citizens and raised a family of six children, 16 grandchildren, and 22 great-grandchildren. Both of my parents spent

their last years in one of those nursing homes in the homes, the Holland homes. P.S. And if I know anything about the Dutch, they've already begun planning to transform this year's plans. There'd been big plans for the 75th anniversary. All canceled because of COVID-19. They've already begun planning to transform this year's plans into 75 plus one years of liberation in 2021, next year. Jill, thank you so much for your letter. And thank all of you for your contributions

to the weekend special number 8. Couple of reminders. You can always write to me at the Mansbridge Podcast at gmail.com. I'm already receiving from some of you ideas for big projects. We're talking big, not little projects, big projects, which could engage the country, which could create lots of jobs. These are things that are going to happen, one assumes, after we pass through the COVID-19 story. Truly getting the economy going again, truly getting the hundreds of thousands of people who have lost work, lost jobs, back to work,

and to create a kind of Canada that we haven't had the opportunity to because we never thought about it enough in terms of big new projects. And there are some. We just need ideas. So why don't we suggest some right here on the Bridge Daily. Next week I'll be talking to Ralph Goodale, the former Deputy Prime Minister of Canada from Saskatchewan. Ralph's got a big idea. We'll talk about it and use it as an example of the kind of things we're talking about. All right?

So make sure you spend a few minutes with us next week on that one. In the meantime, I hope the weather is not bad for you where you are this weekend and that you can get outside and enjoy a bit of it, socially distancing yourself, physically distancing yourself, wherever you can. And for those who are essential workers who are out there looking after us, whether it's in hospitals or police stations or grocery stores or paramedics, firefighters, you name it, truck drivers, farmers, the people who are keeping our country going right now. I hope all of us get an opportunity to catch a little bit of the early May sunshine.

It's sunny here in Stratford today, but my gosh, it's cold. And there's been a lot of snow in different parts of Ontario. It's just like a crazy spring on so many fronts. Anyway, thanks for bearing with me today. It's been enjoyable as it always is. So I'm Peter Mansbridge. Thanks for listening to The Bridge Daily and we'll talk to you again in a couple of days on Monday.